I.INTRODUCTION

A.A
Russian Parable

2.One day, a hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a large
bear

3.Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the bear spoke in a soft,
soothing voice, "Isn't it better to talk than to shoot?"

a."What do you want?"

b."Let's negotiate the matter."

4.Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur
coat."

5."Good," said the bear, "that's astart.I only want
a full stomach, so let's negotiate a compromise."

6.So they sat down to negotiate, and after a time, the bear walked
away alone.

7.The negotiations had been successful.

8.The bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat.

B.The
Danger of Compromise

1.While there are some areas in life where compromise is a necessity,
as in marriage and politics

2.There are others where compromise is deadly

3.We're taking a look at the danger of compromise today

II.TEXT

A.Vs.
1-2

{1} Now it
happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies
heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that
there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the
doors in the gates),

{2} that
Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the
villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm.

1.Under Nehemiah’s dynamic leadership,
the people completed the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in a mere 52
days!

2.Now all that remained to do was the
restoration of the gates and the strengthening of the community within the walls.

a.we read in
chapter 3 how the workers reframed the gates with new timber and prepared the
jambs to hold the gates

b.the only thing
left for them to do was to hang the doors

c.and once that
was done, the building project would be finished

3.That means Sanballat, Tobiah, and their
allies had been defeated

a.their desire
to halt the work had not been realized

b.they knew the
gates would be hung

c.they had lost this battle and they knew it

4.Do you think that because they lost this battle, they would
surrender the war?

5.Well, verse 2 seems to suggest just that

6.They sent a message to Nehemiah that says, in effect,

a."Look, let's put the past behind
us."

b."Let's bury the hatchet and since we're
neighbors, let's be neighborly."

c.the Plain of Ono was the half way point between
Samaria where they lived, and Jerusalem

d.so they proposed a face
to face get-together

7.This looks like a friendly invitation - but Nehemiah sees it for
the thinly disguised trap it is

8.Since Sanballat and his
friends had failed miserably in their attempts to stop the people from working, they decided to concentrate their attacks on
Nehemiah.

9.If they could eliminate him, or even
discredit him, they could mobilize their allies living in Jerusalem and take
over the city.

10.Up to this point in the
building program, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem opposed everything that the Jews did;

a.once the enemy
gets a foothold in a ministry, he starts to weaken the work from within; and
ultimately, the work will fail.

b.while
cooperation in the Lord’s work is a noble thing, leaders must take care that
they cooperate with the right people at the right time for the right purpose;

c.otherwise they
may end up cooperating with the enemy.

d.Satan is a
master deceiver and has his servants ready to join hands with God’s people so
he can weaken their hands in the work

e.in 2 Cor
11:13-15 Paul warns of

" . . .false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel
of light. Thereforeit is no great thing if his
ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end
will be according to their works."

f.this is one
of the reasons why we should be concerned about movements in the church which
extend the bounds of fellowship to include groups which lie clearly outside the
pall of orthodoxy

g.when we see national
men's ministries that welcome Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesseswith open arms, it should be of
concern to us

h.when we see national
prayer movements that welcome mainline denominational churches which have
embraced policies and doctrines which are downright blasphemous, we should be gravely concerned

13.Loving compromise and cooperation can be good
and useful things iftherearenomoralorspiritualissuesinvolved.

a.reasoned compromise
is essential for a successful marriage

b.but this is
compromise that takes place among people who love each other and have the same purposes in mind.

c.it's an entirely different thing to compromise with someone who is
going in a completely different direction and who has nothing but ill will toward
you

B.No Compromise

1.What we see here between Nehemiah and his enemies takes place in
our lives as we face our enemy

2.The devil, through ridicule and threats cannot keep the Holy
Spirit from rebuilding the walls of our personality by conforming us to the
image of Christ

3.So he moves to his next tactic - compromise

4.If he cannot keep us from discovering who we are in Christ and
from using our authority as God's people, then he will propose a truce

5.He suggests that we meet on the plain of Ono, some middle ground
were we can negotiate a new
relationship

6.The problem is that we rarely recognize what is going on

7.He usually coaches his offer with something like the need for balance in our lives

a.now don’t get me wrong, balance is good

b.there are many things in which balance is a
virtue

c.but the enemy would have us strike a balance somewhere
between the love of God and the love of the world

8.Just a few weeks ago, we saw in Ezra the call to holiness

a.to be holy means to be different

b.different from what?The world!

9.The truce the enemy suggests to us is the very opposite of the
call to holiness

a.he suggests that we moderate our separation
from the world

b.he counsels that we mix our pursuit of God
with a good dose of accommodation to the world

c.it's the old attraction of being a believer and being hip

10.But truth be told, what he's inviting is that we compromise with
evil

11.And this invitation is usually private, just as Sanballat and
Geshem invited only Nehemiah to meet
with them in a small and inconspicuous village

a.the appeal the enemy makes is, go ahead and be
different publicly, where others can
see

b.but in private, in some way that no one will
know, go ahead and give in to sin

c.it's fine that the walls of your life have been
rebuilt and the gates have been re-hung -

d.but listen, now that you've come to such an
advanced place and are such a great example, how about leaving open one of the
side gates

e.after all, you've won!

f.why not go ahead and let us have access
every once in a while, just for old time's sake

g.and besides, you can close that door any time
you want!

12.Really, this is what Sanballat is suggesting to Nehemiah

13.Friend - If you compromise with
the devil, or invite him to join your team, expect him to change the rules and
the goals; and expect to be defeated.

a.he is not your
friend, and he is never friendly

b.he wants
nothing for you but ruin

c.he will
negotiate for an opening till the very end

d.and if you
leave it for him, he will enter, and slit your throat

e.the enemy does
not come to us to negotiate peace; he comes to steal, kill, and destroy

14.There is a fascinating insight into this truth
in Daniel 8 which speaks about the career of that man called the antichrist

a.verse 25 says,

"Through
his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt
himself in his heart. And by peace shall destroy many.

b.note that, "by peace, he shall destroy many."

c.this word "peace" is a broad one that means being in a
place where the peace is so far reaching that brings in prosperity

d.in other words, the antichrist will offer people a peace that not
only brings an end to violence and hostility but it brings abundance

e.and in the desire to have what he holds forth, they will give in to his plans

f.but as soon as they take the bait, they will realize they've been
doopt

15.What the antichrist will do at the end of
history is the same tactic that the enemy uses in our lives today

16.So, how do we respond?Let's see how Nehemiah responded to their
offer of compromise

C.Nehemiah's Response

{3} So I
sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing
a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I
leave it and go down to you?”

{4} But
they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

1.Nehemiah rejected their offer
because of three convictions.

a.first, he knew that they were lying and
wanted to kill him.

b.second, he was convinced of the greatness of the work God had given him
to do.

1) he knew he was called to build

2) he was not
called to compromise

3) you know what - there was a subtle temptation in this
for Nehemiah

a) after all, while Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were
enemies, they were nevertheless important
people

b) they had contacts and influence all over

c) the temptation to meet with these powerful and
influential men must have exerted at least some
kind of pull on Nehemiah

4) It's been
interesting to watch over the last 15 years that when certain leaders become
well-known,

a) they face the temptation to neglect their God-given
work and join the “evangelical jet set”

b) they take speaking engagements all over the country
or the world

c) before long, their work at home starts to languish,

d) their marriage and family begin to suffer;

e) and the enemy gets a foothold.

f) unless radical changes are made in their priorities,
the result is tragic for both God’s people and God’s work.

g) now, this is not to say that
Christian leaders must never leave
home to minister elsewhere, for they are a gift to thewholechurch and not just to one work

h) but when “the wider ministry”
is more exciting than the work at home, leaders must beware; for the enemy is
at work.

i) Dr. Oswald J. Smith used to
say, “The light that shines the farthest will shine the brightest at home.”

5) this is one of the reasons I admire and respect Chuck
Smith so much

a) there are few men who are as gifted as teachers and
leaders in the Body of Christ today

b) yet Pastor Chuck has never, ever forgotten his first
call - to Pastor his church in Costa Mesa

c) he could be gone every single day of the year,
pulling down huge fees as a guest speaker

d) but that is not his calling

e) God called him to build the wall in Costa Mesa - and
that is where Chuck wants Jesus to find him when he comes again

c.Nehemiah's third conviction was this: The Jews had
nothing in common with Sanballat and his crowd, so there could be no basis for
cooperation.

d.for all their
fair speech, they were still enemies!

2.Not once, but 4 times Sanballat and Geshem
made this offer

3.And four times, Nehemiah gave precisely the
same reply - "NO!"

4.If their offer was wrong the first time, it
would be wrong the fourth time or the fiftieth time; and there was no reason
for him to reconsider.

a.decisions
based only on opinions might be
reconsidered,

b.but decisions
based on convictions must stand
unless those convictions are changed.

c.otherwise,
decision becomes indecision; and the person of God who ought to be a guidepost becomes a weather vane.

5.Verse 4 reminds us that the enemy is persistent

a.do not think
that there will ever come a time in your life where the devil is going to steer
a wide course around you because you've arrived at the place of perfection

b.no, he is
unrelenting in his opposition of you and God's work in your life

c.sure he may
let up for a season - but not because you're so special

d.no, he lets up
for a time so that you will be lulled into thinking everything is great, will
drop your guard, and then he can deliver a knock out!

e.even peace he
uses as a weapon!

6.One area the devil will be persistent in is the
appeal to compromise with the world

7.But you know what, God can use the devil's persistence in this area to
help reveal our hearts

a.if there is a
part of our hearts that loves the world, the devil's persistence will wear us
down

b.but if our
hearts belong only to God, the devil's persistence will strengthen our resolve
to be holy

c.the same sun
that hardens clay, melts wax

d.the heat is
the same on both, but it reveals the fundamental nature of each

e.in the same
way, the persistent challenge to compromise will reveal our hearts

f.and in this
we can rejoice, because it means we can see where we need to grow, what place
on the wall of our lives the Holy Spirit wants to work

III.Conclusion

A.Your
Heart

1.Does your heart belong only to God?

2.Does every corner of your heart love Him?

3.Or is there some part of your heart that cleaves to the world?

4.Does compromise mark your life?

5.What a miserable place to be

a.there are many today who have too much of the
world to be content in God

b.but they have too much of God to be happy in
the world

6.We were never meant to live with a divided heart

7.James says it in his characteristically blunt manner when he
writes in 4:4

Do
you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever
therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

a.there is no safe compromise with sin

b.compromise is a slippery slope, and the one
who sets their foot on it is destined for ruin

8.We must pray as David did in Psalm 139:23-24

Search
me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

9.Once we've asked God to search our hearts, and he's shown us any
points of compromise, we need to pray the words of Psalm 86:11